Disasters happen despite society's best efforts to prevent them. The causes of disasters are many and numerous including, but not limited to, terrorism, weather, and accidents. However a common tragic consequence regardless of the cause is the mass casualties that often results from a disaster. The influx of mass casualties can overwhelm the local medical facilities. Furthermore, the local medical facilities may be compromised from the disaster. For example, a local hospital or hospitals may be on the list of damaged facilities from a destructive hurricane.
Typically, temporary medical facilities are established near the disaster zone or area to reinforce the existing local medical facilities or worse replace them in order to treat the mass causalities. The effectiveness of these temporary medical facilities is heavily dependent on the speed in which the facilities can be established and the capabilities of the facilities once established. The size and condition of the hosting structure or structures for the facility and the supplies, equipment, and personnel available all contribute, among other things, to the capability of that medical facility. A temporary medical facility even with state of the art medical capabilities is of a little help if the facility is not established relatively soon after the disaster to treat the casualties. Likewise, a temporary medical facility established soon after the disaster with limited medical capability is of limited help to the mass causalities.
Past reactions and planning for disasters have produced a variety of temporary medical facilities. For example, the military and civil authorities often use evacuated buildings or other structures to establish these facilities. Existing structures may provide adequate housing and a relatively clean environment for a facility. However existing structures are not always available or the safety of the existing structures may be in doubt in view of the disaster. Also, structures alone do not provide a functional medical facility. Medical personnel, supplies and equipment are still needed. Therefore even in circumstances where existing structures are available, the authorities are still challenged with providing adequate supplies, equipment, and personnel for the facility.
Instead of relying on existing structures for housing, sometimes the housing is shipped or transported to the disaster area along with the supplies, equipment, and personnel. In some cases, portable permanent structures are transported to the disaster area. However these structures typically have either very limited space in which to host the facility or require extensive transportation means to deliver the structure to or near the disaster zone. Furthermore, coordinating for the movement of such structures often requires too much time. In other cases, portable non-permanent or semi-permanent structures are transported in. For example, tents or modular-type buildings can be utilized. Transporting these structures is relatively easier because they can be broken down into parts for shipping. However, once these structures arrive they require substantial set-up time and manpower; time and manpower that often are not available. Furthermore, non-permanent or semi-permanent systems often are not conducive to a clean and controlled environment that is desired for a medical facility.
In light of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide a portable medical facility that can reinforce or help replace the existing local medical facilities after a disaster. In particular it would be advantageous for the portable medical facility to have the capabilities to treat numerous patients including patients in need of urgent care. Also it would be advantageous if the medical facility can be transported to and set up near the disaster area in a short amount of time with minimal personnel. Preferably, transporting of the facility should not require extensive transporting means.